


Double Dealing

by Polyfunctional



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Drama & Romance, F/F, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-05 06:59:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17320184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polyfunctional/pseuds/Polyfunctional
Summary: Pearl's life hasn't been easy, but she would like to think of herself as a very sensible person. But when she's suddenly shipped off to tutor her trouble-making cousin, she questions if she'll be able to handle everything that comes her way. The last thing she was expecting, however, was accidentally becoming someone's boyfriend.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Aaand, we're doing this one too! Enjoy!

There are many words I would use to describe myself. I'm a perfectionist with a sizeable amount of knowledge on a plethora of topics and value organization.

I'm very fashionable, always wearing very elegant and stylish clothing and never leaving the house without at least one piece of jewelry adorning my body.

I'm attractive, a beautiful, blossoming young woman always using beauty products to enhance and compliment my fair skin, strawberry blonde hair and light blue eyes. I also stick to a very strict diet and excersize routine to maintain my slender, lean figure.

I'm talented, my skills ranging from ballet to violin to singing.

I'm intelligent, a straight-A student with excellent test scores and a promising future ahead of me.

Coming from an upper, influential family, all these things are required of me. Which may have to do with all my flaws.

I may seem like the epitome of perfection, but I am far from it. From a young age I was expected to keep up an appearance that wasn't my own. The real me had flaws and that was something that wasn't tolerated by my strict parents. If I slipped up even a little I would be chastised and told I wasn't being good enough. I had to be perfect, flawless, exemplary, never once making a mistake. I felt like a servant to my own family. I was only around to be shown off as my parents' perfect little girl.

It hurt my self-confidence and self-esteem quite a bit. I was constantly nervous and questioning myself, always seeking others' approval. I became obsessive compulsive, always striving to make sure that I, as well as everything around me, was perfect. Just as expected.

If I saw a book out of place on a self, my fingers would twitch until I was able to fix it. If I noticed a hair straying from its place on my head, I would quickly put it where it belonged, convinced that everyone could see this insignificant detail and was judging me on it.

I had to pretend I was someone I wasn't even in the comfort of my own home. It felt like I was constantly on stage performing the role of a refined and sophisticated girl with an air of grace that had been taught to me for years. It became dificult for me to distinguish the real me from the me I projected to everyone else.

I supposed I could 'acting' to my list of talents.

Maybe that's why I was drawn into such an illusive scheme. Yes, scheme is a fitting word for the situation I ultimately brought upon myself. It started out innocently enough, but grew into something much more complicated as I sank deeper and deeper into a pool of deceit and lies. I could have stopped at any moment and come clean, but I didn't. I wanted so badly to be accepted and show a side of myself that no one had ever known that I couldn't stop. I never meant for it to go so far and I certainly never meant to hurt someone I loved so dearly.

It was my chance to actually be myself and show the world who I really was. Ironically, I had by hiding myself even further. By being someone else I found who I really am.

As I said before, the real me had faults. I am imperfect, I have flaws, I make mistakes. I just wanted to feel confident, secure, and complete instead of weak, insecure, and anxious like I normally was. But I had done it the wrong way and made a mess for everyone. Without someone there to tell me what to do or how to act, I made the biggest, but perhaps most needed mistake of my life.

I had no idea that the days ahead of me would be the best and worst days of my life.


	2. Chapter 1

I twisted my hands nervously as I gazed up at the house resting peacefully on a cliff overlooking the sea. The sun beat down on my bare shoulders and I was afraid I would get burned if I stood there for too long, but I couldn't bring myself to lift my feet from the sand to the stairs that led up to the house.

My aunt Opal had been telling my mother for months about how my cousin was acting out and failing her classes. I knew that Amethyst was a rebellious child, she had been that way since my aunt adopted her, but it seemed like she was becoming worse as she got older. Apparently, Mother thought so too and arranged for me to live with them over summer break. During my time here, I was supposed to tutor Amethyst and instill some of my good behavior in her so she wouldn't be such a problem.

I loved Amethsyt as much as I would any other cousin, but I wasn't blind to the fact that she was a handful. She was about two years younger than me, but quite strong and reckless. The last time I had seen her was at my thirteenth birthday party where she stole food off other guest's plates and ran around shaking cans of soda and purposely spraying them at my friends. She refused to apologize and instead ran off to jump in the pool because she was 'partying.'

It was incredibly rude and embarrassing, though she didn't seem to care. If that's how it was back then and it's only gotten worse, how was I supposed to handle it?

Ill-mannered family members aside, I was also thousands of miles from home. Amethyst and her family lived in a small, ocean-side town across the country from my own family. The town as a whole seemed nice enough with its beautiful beaches, entertaining boardwalks, and interesting history, but I didn't know anyone here. I never had the opprotunity to visit so it was completely new to me.

I felt incredibly overwhelemed.

I was excited that I get to see my extended family, but I wished it wasn't under these circumstances. From what I understood, my aunt was currently juggling her job, a new boy she was fostering that I hadn't met yet, and Amethyst with her behavioral problems. Opal was a strong, respectable woman that had overcome many great obstacles by herself, including the death of her spouse. If she was desperate enough to get help from me, it must be pretty bad.

With some trepidation, I picked up my bags and began my ascent up the stairway. Once I was at the top, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I heard the soft patter of feet come running before the door was thrown open.

"Hi!" I was greeted with a toothy grin from a small boy with curly brown hair who looked no older than ten.

"Are you Steven?" I asked bending down to his height with a smile. I hadn't heard much about Steven from my parents, but I knew enough to know he had lost his mother at birth and his father was struggling financially and currently living in his van, which was why Steven had to stay in foster care. Looking at his glowing face, it would be difficult to tell that he came from such a troubled background.

Steven gasped. "How did you know? Are you a spy?"

"Who's at the door, Steven?" a voice said before I could respond. Opal came up behind Steven, a smile forming when she saw me. "Pearl!"

"Whoa, you're Pearl?" Steven exclaimed, his eyes lighting up even brighter than before. "I didn't know you were showing up today! Oh man, wait right here! I have to get something!"

Opal chuckled as Steven pushed past her to run off into the house. "He's full of energy. Come in!"

She stepped aside to let me into her cozy looking home. Her house was definitely smaller than my own, but it was still nice. To my left was a living room with a sofa and coffee table, with a loft above that was set up like a makeshift bedroom. To my right was a kitchen with a long counter separating it from the living room. Just past the living room and kitchen was a short hallway that led to another section of the house that I couldn't see.

"Amethyst, your cousin is here!" Opal called as I gazed around. She turned back and gave me a hug. "it's been so long since I've seen you!"

"It's good to see you Opal." I said. She pulled away and held me out at arm's length.

"I can't believe how much you've grown! You're almost as tall as me!"

"It runs in the family." I said with a chuckle.

Opal and I had a lot of similarities being directly related through my father. Both of us were nearly six feet tall, had the same shaped nose, eye color, and similar composed temperaments. I always thought she was much prettier than me, though. She had a curiver figure, long silvery blonde hair, and a beautiful voice. I always hoped I could look more like her when I was growing up.

Steven suddenly came running into the living room with a large, orange cat in his arms. He stopped in front of me and held up the cat who looked very annoyed. "This is Lion! He's a kitten I found outside digging in the sand and now he's my best friend! He likes to sleep on my face sometimes."

"He's... He's very nice, Steven." I said as politely as I could. I had never cared too much for cats. They were vicious little creatures that could carry all kinds of diseases and parasites. I didn't know how anyone could think this cat was a kitten, he was huge! Lion's tail was twitching and he looked ready to pounce at any moment so I took a step back.

"You wanna pet him?" Steven said as he thrust the cat toward me. It startled me so much I yelped and jumped back, nearly falling backwards.

"What's wrong?" Steven frowned and lowered the cat. "Amethyst said you would love him."

My head whipped around when I heard a loud snort from Amethyst as if on cue. She stood leaning against a wall with a smug smile on her face. My face burned with anger and embarrassment. I supposed this was her way of welcoming me. I straightened my shoulders and composed myself, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of seeing my discomfort.

"Amethyst, you know Pearl doesn't like cats." Opal said in a tired, exasperated voice.

"Oops, I forgot." Amethyst said with a shrug of her shoulders. "You should have seen the look on your face, it was hilarious!" She smirked at me but I glared down at her.

Amethsyt and I were polar opposites, in both personality and looks. Because of this, I was secretly a little glad that we weren't biologically related. She was significantly shorter than me by almost a whole foot. She had changed a little bit from the last time I had seen her, though. For one, she had frosted the tips of her dark hair and it had grown so long it was nearly past her hips. She also gained weight, but I couldn't tell if it was muscle or fat. Knowing her, it was probably a little of both.

"We must have different senses of humor." I said folding my arms. There was an uncomfortable moment of silence and Opal gave everyone worried glances.

"Pearl," she began with a cheery smile. "why don't you sit down? You must be tired from your trip and I'd love to hear about how your family is doing! How are your bellet classes going?"

"Ballet?!" Steven cried. "Ballet is so cool! Can you do a triple pirouette? Or a quadruple?"

I laughed as Opal guided me to the couch. "They're very difficut, but yes. I can do both." I told Steven.

He let go of his cat who ran off somewhere and sat next to me to listen intently as if I was the most interesting person in the world. While I talked, I could see Amethyst in the corner of my eye, pouting and scowling at me from her seat away from everyone else. Part of me wondered if it was because the attention had shifted away from her and onto me. Her dirty looks were making me uncomfortable so I did my best to ignore them. Eventually Amethyst lost interest and focused on her cell phone instead.

I was actually able to relax and had fun catching up with Opal and getting to know Steven. I hadn't even realized it had started to get dark outside until Steven complained about being hungry.

"I guess I should start dinner." Opal said as she stood. "Are there any requests?"

"Just make whatever, I'm gonna show Pearl where her room is." Amethyst said surprising both Opal and I. We exchanged looks and Opal shruged her shoulders so I figured there was nothing wrong with that.

"Alright." I told Amethyst. "And I'll be happy with anything for dinner." I added to Opal before I picked up my bags and followed Amethyst down the hall.

"This is it." Amethyst said as she pushed open one of the doors at the end of the house.

I peered inside and saw the spacious room that looked like it had been designed specifically for me. The walls were painted a soft sandy color with a few serene pictures of the ocean hanging on them. There was a light pink oval rug lying on the floor by the bed, and the bedspread was my favorite shade of light teal. Next to the bed was a white desk with a single lamp on it, the lamp shade decorated with tiny pastel seashells. The room was very neat and tidy, though it looked like there were a few things I would rearrange to make myself more comfortable. Other than those minor details, it was perfect!

"You can put your junk in that closet over there." Amethsyt said, nodding to the door on the other side of the room. I grimaced at the fact that she referred to my belongings as "junk" but thanked her anyway. "Now hurry up and get ready, we're leaving soon."

I thought that was strange, I hadn't heard Opal say anything about going out. "Leaving? Isn't Opal starting dinner already?"

"We're not going out to eat, idiot." Amethyst said rolling her eyes. "You and me are going to a party."

I chuckled incredulously. "A what?"

"Y'know, a party? Like with music and stuff? You ever heard of those?"

"Yes, I'm aware of what a party is." I said as I furrowed my brow and put my hands on my hips. "But I never agreed to going to any party. I just got here."

"Oh, it's cool. I know the DJ so I can get in anyone I want."

"What I meant is I'm not going."

"What, why not?!" she practically shrieked.

"I already told you, I never agreed to it. I didn't even know about it until just now. I'm tired and I'd rather stay here." I explained. She was fuming so I put up my hands defensively. "I'm not preventing you from going by yourself."

"I'm only allowed to go if you come with me to make sure I don't 'get into trouble.'" she said narrowing her eyes.

Alright, so it seemed I did have influence over whether or not she went. Her attitude changed completely to a more pleading tone. "Please? A bunch of really cool people are gonna be there and it's supposed to be a really big thing. I need to go to this!"

"I'm sorry but I can't."

"Aw, c'mon, I even said please!" she yelled, switching back to anger. "You can and you will, or else!"

"Or else what?" I challeneged, but my voice wavered and I knew she noticed.

"Or else I'll make your life a living hell." she said with a smug smile. "I know you're only here to 'make me a better person' or whatever, which I think is complete bullshit, by the way. You're not that great. But if you refuse to do what I want, then I'll refuse to do what you want. Then you'll have to run home to your mommy and daddy and tell them how much of a failure you are"

I pressed my lips together tightly and looked toward the ceiling. So she was blackmailing me now? Knowing her, her threats probably held some weight. I expected I would have some trouble with Amethyst, but having it so soon was ridiculous. Maybe it was best to do this for her and keep some peace between us. After all, my job was to make sure she didn't get into trouble, so going to this would mean I was doing what I had to.

I sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll go."

"Sweet!" Amethyst rubbed her hands together and beamed. I was amazed at how easily she could switch between moods. "Like I said, there's gonna be cool people there so you're gonna have to change all of... that."

"What's wrong with this?" I asked, looking down at myself. I didn't think there was anything wrong with my floral pink dress.

"You look prissy and gross. I don't want any of my friends thinking my cousin is stuck-up, even if you are. All the clothes you brought look like this, huh?"

I nodded hestitantly. I didn't like how harshly she was criticizing me.

"Ugh, okay. C'mon, you can borrow something of mine."

"I'm not sure anything of yours will fit me..." I said as I followed her to what I assumed was her room. She spun around so fast I nearly bumped into her.

"Are you calling me fat?!"

"What? No!" My eyes widened and I shook my head. "N-No, I would never-"

She laughed and punched me in the arm. "I'm kidding! I know we're not the same size! That's why we gotta look around." With that she opened the door while I cradled my arm. My jaw dropped at the sight of Amethyst's room.

It looked like a bomb had gone off in there! There was so much stuff on the floor I couldn't even see the floor boards. It was littered with dirty laundry, discarded food wrappers and boxes, broken sports equipment, and all kinds of other things that looked like they came straight from a dump. Her bed had a broken headboard and no sheets, just some blankets and pillows. Her faded purple walls were covered in crooked posters, some of which were ripped or falling off. Not to mention the noxious scent of sweat and greasy pizza. The whole place was a disaster and couldn't believe someone would live like this.

"Don't mind the mess." Amesthyst said nonchalantly, but I was very much minding the mess. She walked over the stuff on the floor with ease and went to a pile of clothing sitting on top of a dresser in the corner of the room. I stood in the doorway as she rummaged through it, silently hoping she would at least choose something clean for me to wear. Suddenly an article of clothing was tossed to me and I caught it, holding it away from me.

"See if that fits." she instructed. I hesitantly unraveled it and held it up for me to look at. It was a dark blue shirt with holes ripped in the back and looked like it would barely cover my stomach. I frowned and began folding it neatly.

"I don't think so."

She continued to give me clothes to inspect but I rejected them all. Our body types were just too different to share clothing. Even if they did fit, none of them were my style and most of them were ripped to shreds. Amethyst began getting frustarted and pulling open drawers to look through.

"What about these?" She tossed me a pair of black denim jeans followed by a red flannel shirt.

"Are these men's clothes?" I asked as I looked them over. "Why do you have these?"

"I dunno, maybe I stole 'em from someone. I have no idea where most of my stuff comes from. Do they fit or not?"

I sighed and held them up. They did look bigger than the other clothes she gave me. I held the pants against my legs, and sure enough, they were long enough for me to wear.

"I think they might... but I can't wear men's clothes."

"Why not? Wouldn't it be cool to be a guy for a night?" She laughed but stopped. She looked lost in thought and then her whole face lit up in a way I wasn't sure I liked. "Hey, yeah! You could pretend to be a boy at the party! You're tall and you got short hair, you could totally pull it off! It'll be fun!"

"I can't do that." I scoffed and began to fold the clothes. "It's such a ridiculous idea. I'd rather keep looking."

"We already wasted a lot of time looking for something you can wear." she moaned. "Just wear that. Pretend to be my other cousin. You can do that, right? Besides, it's only tonight. Then people won't recognize you later and you won't humiliate your family's reputation or whatever."

"But-"

"Just do it!"

I huffed and looked down at the clothes. She did make a good point. I really didn't want people from such a small town to recognize me from a party that was bound to be an inappropriate one if Amethyst wanted to go to it. And she was already frustrated with me, so arguing would just cause more problems. The more I thought about it, the less excuses I had to not do this. It was only one night...

"Fine. I need shoes, though."

"I'll see what I got! This is gonna be so fun!" Amethyst scurried around to rummage some more while I went to my room to change. Once I closed the door, I hesitated for just a moment, then slipped off my dress and buttoned up the shirt on me. I looked at myself with a mirror from my bag to see if it fit properly. It was a bit loose, but not too much. The pants fit just as I thought they would and already I could see a difference in myself, as ridiculous as it was. I took out my earrings and hung up my dress in the closet.

I couldn't believe I was actually doing this. Me, dressing up as a boy to go to some party! It was my first day here and already I had lost my mind. What would my mother think? I shook my head and went to the bathroom to clean off my makeup. Amethyst came in just as I was finishing up with a pair of grey shoes. She looked like she had changed her clothes as well. She was now wearing a tight fit leopard print shirt and incredibly short shorts. She paused when she saw me, a huge smile spreading across her face.

"Damn, you look so different! And your chest is so flat there's barely anything to hide!"

"Thanks." I said with a grimace as I patted my face dry with a towel. She handed me the shoes and I sat on the toilet to pull them on. They were a bit tight, but I thought I could put up with them for a few hours.

"Here, let me just-" Amethyst wet her hands in the sink and ran her fingers through my hair. I protested that she was being too rough but she ignored me and continue until she was satisfied. "There!"

I stood up to look at myself in the mirror. She had spiked my hair into a more masculine style. Without my makeup and dressed as I was, I didn't look as feminine. It was an impressive transformation and if I didn't know me, I might mistake myself for a young man. But impressive or not, I still felt ridiculous.

"This is crazy." I mumbled to myself.

"Yeah it is! That's what makes it so fun! Now, c'mon, let's get outta here." Amethyst quickly applied some lipstick then disappeared from the bathroom. Feeling helpless, I followed her.

One thing I was grateful for was the shoes I was given provided a lot more protection from the sand than my sandals did. But that was the one and only good thing. Everything else about the night was awful. We got to the party fairly quickly, and just as Amethyst had said, I had no problem getting in since I was with her.

Everything was bathed in black lights that made neon colors pop out and glow on people's clothing. The music was so loud I could barely think and the bass vibrated my entire body and made me sick. There were so many people it was cramped and hot. At some point a girl put some glow stick necklaces on me, but they did nothing to lift my mood.

I stayed close to Amethyst so I could keep an eye on her. Of course, Amethyst tried to play into her fantasy and kept introducing me to her friends as her 'other cousin' and using male pronouns for me, but I didn't say much. This whole experience was more of a job than anything else, so that's how I treated it. After a while Amethyst started to become annoyed that I wasn't playing along with her little game.

"Come on, aren't you having fun? This is awesome!" Amethyst shouted to me over the music after her friends wandered off.

"How could you think this is fun?" I asked as I watched a small group of people cheering over two boys wrestling on the ground just three feet away from us. They were all like animals.

"You're just being lame!" she said as she punched me in the arm for the second time that day.

"Ow! I'd appreicate if you stopped being so violent!" I said as I held my arm.

"I know what you need!" Amethyst said before she ran off somewhere. She was gone for less than a minute before she returned with two cups in her hands. "Here, chug these!"

"What is it?" I took one of the cups and smelled it. I recoiled immediately when I smelled alcohol, beer specifically. "Amethyst! Where did you get this?! We're minors!"

"So? Don't your parents let you drink wine?"

"Only on holidays!" I yelled. "This is completely different, I-"

"C'mon! Chug, chug, chug!" she started chanting loudly. Some people nearby heard and assumed it was a game so they joined in. A crowd started forming but no matter how hard I tried to protest and give the cup back to Amethyst, they continued to cheer on.

"I'm not doing thi-" I was cut off when Amethyst suddenly grabbed my chin and shoved the cup between my lips. The action made me gasp and I swallowed a good portion of it on accident. The small crowd got louder as Amethyst continued. I tried to press my lips together and pull away, but that only resulted in it spilling all down the front of my shirt. While I struggled, my foot slipped in a puddle of what had gotten on the floor and I lost my balance. I landed straight on my back, hard.

The force of the impact left my head spinning and for a moment I wasn't sure what happened. I had no time to react before Amethyst was on top of me. Someone had passed her a huge bottle of something that looked like vodka and she used the opportunity to pinch my nose and pour it down my throat. I heard her laughing as I gagged and flailed, but my efforts weren't very helpful. My heart was pounding in my ears and I couldn't breathe as I swallowed a lot of what tasted like nail polish remover.

I'm not sure how, but I managed to push her off me and scrambled away from her and the others. Amethyst's laughter trailed after me as I pushed through the crowd blindly. I was disoriented and didn't know where I was going, but somehow I stumbled my way to a door that luckily led outside. I gasped at the fresh air and fell on my hands and knees as I went into a coughing fit.

My throat burned and my chest felt tight. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes and made them sting as I dry heaved a few times. After a few moments I was able to push myself into a sitting position. My whole body felt weak and my hands were shaking as I scooted myself closer to the wall to lean against it.

I knew it was a bad idea to come here, I thought to myself as I took off the glow stick necklaces and wiped my face on my sleeve. Not just to this party, but to this place as a whole. Of course something like this would happen to me almost immediately as I got here. I couldn't do this. This whole thing was a disaster and it was all my fault for letting it happen!

I pulled my knees to my chest and curled myself into a pathetic little ball as I wallowed in my own self pity. I have no idea how long I stayed like that. I only lifted my head some time later when I thought I heard someone yelling in the distance.

"...leave me alone! How many times do I have to tell you?"

I was able to make out a girl's voice somewhere nearby and what she said piqued my interest. I'm not sure why, but I made myself stand on my wobbly legs and went toward the sound just around the corner. I saw a girl being cornered by a boy, and she did not look amused.

"Come on, baby, don't be like that." he said in a disgustingly sweet voice as he put his hand on her cheek.

"I'm not your 'baby' and I said leave me alone!" She swatted his hand away but he continued to pursue her.

I felt a little dizzy as I watched all this unfold. Something stirred in the pit of my stomach and for some reason I found myself walking towards the two of them. Slowly at first, and then faster as the gravity of the situation sank in and I felt myself getting angrier with each step. It's hard to say what came over me, but later I would blame it on the alcohol in my system. With balled fists, I shoved myself between the two who both looked equally surprised to see me.

"What's going on here?" I demanded. My voice seemed to drop and my throat was a little raspy from all that coughing. It was so different I didn't even recognize it. The boy was taken aback.

"Whoa, what the-"

"She's asked you to go away." I told him firmly. He blinked before he smirked and pushed his bangs from his eyes.

"You got it all wrong. Her and I are just having some fun, right, cupcake?"

"Fuck you!" she spat at him from behind me. He grinned as if she had agreed with him. And to make things worse, he winked at her which only infuriated me more.

"You better back off." I warned and took a menacing step toward him. He seemed unfazed and kept that self-absorbed smile on his face.

"Look, buddy, this really isn't any of your business. This is between me and her. So why don't you step aside-" He reached out for her arm.

"I said BACK OFF!" I shoved his shoulders so hard he stumbled, nearly falling on the ground. He stared at me with wide eyes and his mouth agape. I glared daggers at him and stepped toward him again.

"Dude, chill!" He put his hands up defensively and started backing away. "I'll leave, jeez!"

He glanced once more at the girl, then shook his head and disappeared around the corner. My heart was pounding in my chest from the little adrenaline rush I had. I had never done anything like that before and I felt... great!

I actually scared someone off! I was able to help someone out of a potentially dangerous situation! And I had been intimidating while I did it! It was such an invigorating feeling and I grinned to myself, proud of my accomplishment.

"I could've handled that myself, you know."

I turned back to the girl I had protected who was frowning at me with her hand on her hip. Now that it was just the two of us, I was able to get a better look at her. She was thin and shorter than me, with shocking electric blue hair that went just past her jawline and matched her equally shocking blue eyes. She had a blue glow stick bracelet around her wrist and a lot of her tan skin was showing with her blue crop top and black shorts. (She really liked the color blue, didn't she?)

The piercing look she gave me made the blood drain from my face and I averted my eyes.

"I-I... I didn't- I didn't mean to-"

"I get it, okay? You saw a damsel in distress and had to swoop in to save her. I understand it's a guy thing, but seriously, I probably would've just punched that asshole in the throat."

I stared at her in confusion before it click in my head what she meant. I looked down at myself and realized she thought I was a boy!

"Oh! Oh no, I-"

"Wait, I'm sorry!" She cut me off again, shaking her head. "I don't mean to be totally rude, I'm just frustrated. That guy was just so... ugh! I appreciate that you helped me, even if I didn't need it. Not many people would do that."

Again, I have no idea what came over me. What she said just made me feel so confident and good. For the first time that night, I actually played into the fantasy Amethyst had made up. I smiled and rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly.

"Y-You're welcome." I said, deepening my voice once more. I sounded like a twelve year old that hadn't quite reached puberty yet, but that was the best I could pull off. In the back of my mind I knew I shouldn't be lying to her like this, but I blocked it out. I could go back to being plain old me once the night was over. At that moment, I wanted to ride out the wonderful feeling while I could. Besides, I probably wouldn't see her like this after tonight anyway.

"My name's Lapis." she said extending her hand, which I shook. "What about you?"

"Puh..." I almost said Pearl. I had at least had enough sense to know that I couldn't tell her my real name! That would give me away. I blurted out the first male name I could think of that started with a 'p.' "Paul!"

"Paul?" she asked cocking an eyebrow. "What, you don't know your own name?"

"No! I-I mean, yes?" My mind felt fuzzy. "I'm not sure how to answer that."

She laughed at that and I found myself laughing with her. "You're pretty cool." she said. She looked toward the building with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I should go find my friends. We got split up when I went to find the bathroom and then this whole thing happened. But let me give you my number!"

The smile dropped from my face and my eyes widened. "Oh, you don't have to-"

Before I could object, she pulled a permanent marker from her pocket, grabbed my wrist and started writing on my inner arm. She smiled when she was done and let me have my arm back. "There you go! Gimme a call and maybe we can hang out sometime."

With that she jogged away and left me standing there by myself. I watched her disappear and then looked down at the numbers scribbled in blue ink on my skin. My only thought was this was going to be a pain to wash off.


End file.
